Read This Before Your Next Meal Out

Overview

You get what you pay for, right? It turns out, when a meal is more expensive, you’re more likely to enjoy it, according to a new Cornell University study.

Researchers handed out fliers advertising the cost of an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet as either $4 or $8 to 139 diners at an Italian restaurant in upstate New York. After the meal, those who paid the higher price for the buffet rated the pizza as tastier, more satisfying, and enjoyable than those who paid $4 for the exact same meal.

How come? Consumers generally associate a higher price with a higher-quality product, says study author Ozge Sigirci, a researcher at Cornell’s Food Lab, and this research shows the same applies to eating out. So opting to splurge on that better cut of steak is just one way to increase your satisfaction with a night out. Here are 5 more surprising ways you can upgrade your meal experience when eating at any restaurant.

Ask for a quiet corner

Loud background noise not only leaves you shouting across the table, it actually suppresses salty and sweet flavors and lowers overall enjoyment of food, according to researchers in the Netherlands. That’s because the background noise draws your attention away from your meal, so you’re less likely to pay attention to the subtle flavors that make food more enjoyable, the researchers write.

Look at some food porn

Feel free to ogle the dessert tray at the next table even if you’re not having any. Swiss researchers found that guys who looked at pictures of high-calorie fare, like pizza or a pastry, before eating a bland-tasting piece of food enjoyed it more than after looking at a picture of a low-calorie food, like watermelon or green beans. Why? The high-calorie images activated areas of the brain associated with pleasure, giving the illusion that the neutral-flavored food tasted better.

Choose food and drinks with fancy garnishes

Artistic touches, like sauces drizzled in fancy patterns, can make you think food tastes better, according to a study in the journal Appetite. Like a high price tag, the decorative flourishes trick your brain into thinking the meal is fancier and higher quality, which can affect the way you perceive the taste. Take a peek at the restaurant’s website before heading out to see what dazzles your eyes the most.

Go organic

Turns out it’s good for the planet, your body, and your feelings on the meal: organic labels alone make you believe your meal is more nutritious, according to Cornell researchers. When they asked 115 passersby at a mall food court to sample organic and “non-organic” cookies (they were actually both organic), they found that those who ate the foods labeled organic rated their snacks as 20 to 24 percent lower in calories, and they were willing to pay 16 to 23 percent more for it.

Control hyper kids

Have trouble keeping your toddler from running into the restaurant’s kitchen? Kids are twice as likely to disobey their parents and act rowdy after eating food they have to eat with their front teeth—think drumsticks, corn on the cob, and whole apples—than if they eat food with a fork, according to a small Cornell study. If denying them the grilled cheese will cause even more chaos, cut it up into smaller pieces first, the study suggests.

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